{"id":826,"date":"2026-03-19T13:01:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T13:01:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/?p=826"},"modified":"2026-03-19T13:01:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T13:01:17","slug":"worrying-kepa-arrizabalaga-statistic-emerges-just-days-before-arsenals-carabao-cup-final-vs-man-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/?p=826","title":{"rendered":"Worrying Kepa Arrizabalaga statistic emerges just days before Arsenal\u2019s Carabao Cup final vs Man City"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Arsenal face Manchester City on Sunday afternoon in the Carabao Cup final, looking to win their first piece of silverware since 2020, and Mikel Arteta has a crucial team selection decision to make ahead of the clash.<\/p>\n<p>The Gunners are still pursuing an unprecedented quadruple after easing past Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League in midweek. They\u2019re now in the last eight of Europe\u2019s elite competition, the last eight of the FA Cup, and they sit nine points clear at the top of the Premier League table.<\/p>\n<p>Sunday\u2019s final will set the tone for the rest of the season, and thus, it\u2019s imperative that Arteta\u2019s team come out on top and have the momentum with them for the run-in. While the Spaniard will likely field his best possible team across the pitch, there may be one exception \u2013 in between the sticks.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read More:<\/strong> Arsenal vs Man City: Two key City stars set to miss Carabao Cup final<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<p>\n          <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Kai Havertz FIRES Arsenal to Wembley! \ud83e\udd29 | Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea | Carabao Cup Highlights\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GzMyrjvn2og?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n        <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Kepa Arrizabalaga hints that he\u2019ll start for Arsenal vs Man City<\/h2>\n<p>Arteta faces the classic cup final selection decision: play your best and first-choice goalkeeper or stick with the deputy who got you into this position? Kepa Arrizabalaga has started every match in Arsenal\u2019s run to the final, including both legs of the semi-final against Chelsea.<\/p>\n<p>In years gone by, there wouldn\u2019t have been much debate in this scenario, with Arsenal not boasting the most impressive back-up shot-stoppers. The likes of Matt Turner and Norberto Neto weren\u2019t palatable options for Arteta, and David Raya would\u2019ve assumed his place in the starting eleven.<\/p>\n<p>However, the Gunners haven\u2019t had a number two of Kepa\u2019s calibre for a while, and it wouldn\u2019t be a surprise if the manager decides to show faith in the former Chelsea man and starts him at Wembley.<\/p>\n<p>It appears as though the tactician is leaning that way already, anyway. Speaking to the Sun, Kepa hinted that he\u2019s likely to start by revealing how he prepares to deal with the atmosphere.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The match winner.<\/p>\n<p>Last night&#8217;s Player of the Match as voted by you: Kepa Arrizabalaga &#x1f9e4; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/RgT2qWnXdd\">pic.twitter.com\/RgT2qWnXdd<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Arsenal (@Arsenal) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Arsenal\/status\/2003737533428171060?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 24, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThe atmosphere at Wembley is so special, everything around the game is special \u2013 the build-up and everything,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know you are out there playing for a title, and right now in this moment of\u00a0football, every title is so difficult to get.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know you are one game away from being able to lift a trophy. Obviously, it\u2019s going to be a tough game, a very difficult game, but we\u2019ll go for it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have played in the League Cup final before, but I have played many finals in my career; I have been lucky in that way.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo I will just approach the game the best way that I can. We will prepare everything in the best way, because at the end, the aim is to win.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Worrying Kepa Arrizabalaga stat<\/h2>\n<p>This wouldn\u2019t be Kepa\u2019s first rodeo in a cup final, as he alluded to. The Basque keeper famously started for Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final in 2019, when he refused to be substituted by Maurizio Sarri before the penalty shootout took place.<\/p>\n<p>The Blues subsequently went on to lose that final on spot-kicks, and Kepa was forever immortalised by the opponents, City, for his bizarre role in that game at Wembley. <\/p>\n<p>However, the more alarming aspect for Gunners fans is Kepa\u2019s overall record in finals. The goalkeeper has been involved in five finals since he moved to England, two in the Carabao Cup and three in the FA Cup. <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Kepa Arrizabalaga <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Arsenal?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Arsenal<\/a>\u2019s penalty shootout saviour &#x1f9e4; <\/p>\n<p>18\/19 \u2013 Finalist&#x1f948; <br \/>21\/22 \u2013 Finalist &#x1f948; <br \/>25\/26 \u2013 &#x2753; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/KuSuxnNXjM\">pic.twitter.com\/KuSuxnNXjM<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Carabao Cup (@Carabao_Cup) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Carabao_Cup\/status\/2003782345829273749?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 24, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>He lost all five finals. After his 2019 antics, he also started the 2022 Carabao Cup final against Liverpool, which they also lost on penalties. <\/p>\n<p>As for the FA Cup, Kepa was on the bench for two of Chelsea\u2019s defeats, although he did play when Thomas Tuchel\u2019s team lost to Leicester City in 2021. He was beaten by a stunning long-range effort from Youri Tielemans, which ultimately decided the final.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Should Kepa Arrizabalaga start against Man City?<\/h2>\n<p>Ultimately, for the sake of the dressing room, Kepa should start against City. Part of the reason he likely agreed to join Arsenal and deputise for Raya was that he would\u2019ve been promised all cup minutes, regardless of how far the Gunners got in each domestic cup competition.<\/p>\n<p>Upsetting this agreement could mess with the dressing room dynamics between the goalkeepers, and Arteta would be risking unsettling a clearly spikey character. Kepa has earned his position for this game, and the manager should show some loyalty to him.<\/p>\n<p>That said, Raya is obviously the better player, and Arteta may not be fussed with Kepa\u2019s potential discontent. Ultimately, winning the competition is the most important thing, and this may just mean that the ex-Brentford man gets the nod.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Arsenal face Manchester City on Sunday afternoon in the Carabao Cup final, looking to win<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":827,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arsenal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=826"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/826\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}